With one week left in this year's legislative session, state Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, (right) and others will be facing crunch time

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The waning days of the state legislative session are intense, fast-paced and, oftentimes, frustrating for lawmakers and lobbyists.

Some liken them to the wild, wild West. Or college finals week. Almost anything can happen. Bills die at the last moment. Provisions can get slipped into bills with little notice.

This part of the session is officially called "conference committee" time. Basically, it's when much of the negotiations go on - often behind the scenes - to reach agreement on bills that have passed the House and Senate in different versions. ...